Netflix knows when a show will hook you

Pilot episodes aren't very good at hooking viewers, according to research conducted by Netflix.

The streaming service reached that conclusion after analysing 25 TV shows to get an insight into user habits. It defines a "hook episode" as when 70 per cent of viewers of that episode went on to watch the entire first series.

"Given the precious nature of primetime slots on traditional TV, a series pilot is arguably the most important point in the life of the show," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer at Netflix.

"However, in our research of more than 20 shows across 16 markets, we found that no one was ever hooked on the pilot. This gives us confidence that giving our members all episodes at once is more aligned with how fans are made."

It could also be a sly dig at Amazon, which runs a pilot season every year and lets viewers decide which shows get made into full series.

'Breaking Bad''s hook episode was found to be episode two, while 'BoJack Horseman''s was episode five.

Some of the worst offenders were 'Arrow' and 'How I Met Your Mother', both of which didn't achieve a hook until episode eight.

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